The most popular abandonware applications
Abandonware DOS is not only about games. Some of the most fondly remembered software for old PCs is an application. These applications, both for DOS and early versions of Windows, played pivotal roles in shaping the personal computing landscape. They introduced users to various productivity tools, multimedia experiences, and the potential of GUI-based interfaces.
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Turbo Assembler (TASM)
DOSWindows XP/98/951989 programming, utility
Turbo Assembler and Tools 5.0, often referred to as TASM, is an x86 assembler for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows. As a key component of Borland's suite of development tools, TASM was packaged alongside Turbo Debugger (TD),...
Macromedia Flash Player
Windows XP/98/95Windows 10/111996freeware utility
Back in 1996, Macromedia Flash Player was like that mysterious new kid at school who suddenly knew how to juggle, ride a unicycle, and solve a Rubik’s Cube—all at the same time. Windows users quickly realized it wasn&r...
Norton Commander 5.5
DOS1998 file management
Norton Commander was one of the most popular and influential file management applications ever released for MS-DOS. Introduced in 1986, it featured an innovative, dual-pane interface that allowed users to perform tasks like copyin...
dBASE III
DOS1984 database
dBASE III is a relational database management system (RDBMS) that was popular in the late 1980s. It was developed by Ashton-Tate, a software company. dBASE III was a successor to the earlier dBASE II and was part of a series of dB...
QBASIC
DOS1991 programming
QBasic, or QuickBASIC, was an interpreted version of the BASIC programming language developed by Microsoft. It was designed to be easy to learn and use, making it accessible to beginners and hobbyist programmers. QBasic was part o...
Wordstar 4
DOS1986 word processor
WordStar 4 was a popular word processing software program during the early days of personal computing. WordStar 4 included features typical of word processors in that era, allowing users to create, edit, and format documents....
NeoPaint 3.2
DOS1996 graphics editor
NeoPaint 3.2 is a raster-based graphics editing software designed for DOS. It is a lightweight yet powerful alternative to more complex image editing programs like Photoshop. NeoPaint offers a range of features for creating, editi...
DeskMate
DOS1984 utility, spreadsheet, word processor
Deskmate is a software suite developed by Tandy Corporation that provided a graphical user interface (GUI) and a set of applications for personal computers. It was often bundled with Tandy's TRS-80 and Tandy 1000 series of compute...
Skyglobe 3.5
DOS1992 utility
SkyGlobe is an astronomy software that was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was a DOS-based planetarium program that allowed users to explore the night sky in real-time or by adjusting dates and times. Some of it...
Borland Turbo Pascal 3.0
DOS1986 programming
Borland Turbo C v1
DOS1987 programming
Deluxe Paint 2
DOS1988 graphics editor
Deluxe Paint, often abbreviated as DPaint, was a popular bitmap graphics editor and animation software package. It was developed by Electronic Arts (EA) and released in the mid-1980s. Deluxe Paint was initially designed for the Co...
VisiCalc 1.0
DOS1979freeware spreadsheet
VisiCalc was the first spreadsheet software for personal computers, and it played a pivotal role in the early history of personal computing. It was developed by Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston and first released in 1979 for the App...
Turbo Pascal 7
DOSWindows 3.xMac OS1992 programming
Turbo Pascal 7 (TP7) is a programming language and integrated development environment (IDE) that was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was developed by Borland as an evolution of their earlier Turbo Pascal versions. Tu...
GW-BASIC 3
DOS1988 programming
GW-BASIC (short for Gee Whiz BASIC) is a dialect of the BASIC programming language that was developed by Microsoft. It's one of the early implementations of BASIC and was included as the default programming environment in early ve...
ResidualVM
Windows XP/98/952003freeware gaming software
Borland Turbo C v2
DOS1988 programming
After Dark
DOSWindows XP/98/95Mac OS1993 utility
Quattro Pro v4
DOS1991 spreadsheet
Virtual Reality Studio 2.0
DOS1992 gaming software
Norton Editor 2
DOS1990 word processor
Arj
DOS1990 utility
ARJ is a file compression utility and file format created by Robert K. Jung. The name "ARJ" stands for "Archived by Robert Jung." It was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a compression tool for MS-DOS and other systems....
Adventure Game Studio (AGS)
Windows 10/11LinuxMac OS1997freeware gaming software
Adventure Game Studio (AGS) is a software development tool that enables users to create point-and-click adventure games. It was originally created by Chris Jones and has been used by game developers to produce a variety of 2D adve...
DOS Navigator v 1.5
DOS1991freeware file management
Borland Turbo Basic 1.0
DOS1987 programming
Borland Turbo Basic was a programming language developed by Borland, a software company that was prominent in the 1980s and 1990s. Turbo Basic was part of the Turbo series of programming languages and development tools that Borlan...
AutoCAD 2.5
DOS1986 graphics editor
ELIZA for DOS
DOS1988 utility, life simulation
ELIZA, created in the mid-1960s by Joseph Weizenbaum at MIT, was one of the first computer programs to simulate human conversation. Designed as a natural language processing demonstration, ELIZA used pattern matching and substitut...
Arachne WWW
DOS1996freeware browser
Arachne is a graphical web browser for DOS. Arachne was developed by Michal Polák and released in the early 1990s as a text-mode web browser with limited graphical capabilities. Arachne allowed DOS users to browse the ...
PrintMaster
DOS1985 graphics editor
PrintMaster is a program that allows users to create a variety of print projects, such as greeting cards, banners, brochures, and more. It provides users with tools and templates to design and customize their own print materials.&...
Dr. Sbaitso
DOS1991 utility, life simulation